The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

In the world of video games, especially with massive companies like 2K Sports and EA, it’s incredibly rare to hear a developer admit they “immediately regretted” jumping from one company to the next. That’s just what happened on this month’s episode of IGN Unfiltered, where editor Ryan McCaffrey spoke with NBA 2K gameplay director Mike Wang.

developer Visual Concepts just as NBA 2K6 was wrapping up development. Wang stayed on through NBA 2K7 and 2K8 before making the decision to jump ship to 2K Sports’ biggest rival, EA’s NBA Live, which was trailing behind 2K in critical reception at the time. It wasn’t simply a matter of money, though. Wang’s reasoning was practically Machiavellian.

“My twisted thinking was: I was looking at where NBA Live was, and I felt like they were behind us in a lot of ways,” Wang told IGN. “I was also looking at my own team and thinking 'Eh, there's some things I wish we would do differently. We could be different in some ways.' My twisted thinking was if I could go to EA and I could shore up gameplay, then maybe there'd be this really heated rivalry between 2K and Live again and it would push the basketball genre forward.”

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To hear more about Wang’s journey from 2K, to EA, and back again, as well as the tough lessons he learned in the process, make sure to watch this month’s full episode of IGN Unfiltered (see above). Wang also touches on how sports games like NBA 2K have evolved over the past decade, and how his history as a forum regular led to a job offer from Visual Concepts.

Also make sure to check out previous episodes of IGN Unfiltered, where editor Ryan McCaffrey sits down with some of the industry’s brightest stars to talk about video game history and their own paths to success. Recent guests include BioShock Infinite writer Joe Fielder and 3D Realms co-founder Scott Miller.

Joseph Knoop is a freelance writer for IGN, and is just happy if he can schedule his breakfast without the world catching on fire. Be like Mike with him on Twitter @JosephKnoop.

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